thackara



(No Model.)

S. THACKARA.

ELECTRICAL TIME PIECE.

NO- 351,222- Patented Oct. 19, 1886.

FIGLI.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

swam rHAoKAEA, or GAMDEMNEW JERSEY.

ELECTRICAL TIM E.PIECE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,222, dated October 19, 1886.

Application filed May 14, 1886. Serial No. 202,171. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, Swain Terreinen, a citizen of the United States, residing in Camden, Camden county, New Jersey, have invented certain. Improvements in Electrical TimeePieces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of electrical time-pieces which are operated by suecessl ner which I will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l. is a vertical section on the line 1 2, Fig. 2, of sufficient of an electrical clock to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 3 4, Fig. l; and Figs..3, 4, and 5 are views illustrating the devices in different positions.

A A are the front and back plates ol' the clock united by the rods or bars a, c', and a?.

D the main arbor, adapted to bearings in the front and back plates and carrying a ratchet-whcel, il, to which an intermittent lrotary motion to the extent of one tooth is imparted at each electrical impulse, as hereinafter described. V

,E is the electro-magnet, which in the present instance I have shown as consisting of two bobbins carried by the cross-,bar a,which il'orms the base of the horseshoe. The armature F of this electro-magnet is carriedby a bent lever, f, pivoted at j at the base of the electro-inagnctthat is, at the opposite end from the armature F. A spring, g, tends to keep the armature in the elevated position illustrated in the drawings, and in contact with the back stop, p; but when the circuit is closed throiigh the coils of the electro-magnet the armature will be moved in the arc of a circle by the magnetic attraction both toward the poles and across their faces, tending toward the central position, (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2,) when the armaturelever comes into contact with a iront stop, p', which in the present instance I have shown as carried by or forming part ci the cross-bar c?. Owing to this pivoting ot' the armature-lever at the base of the electro-magnet in the manner illustrated, I obtain a long leverage and a strong magnetic action upon the armature, so that comparatively little battery power is consumed in operating the armature, and, moreover, a compact arrangement is provided. The armature-lever or its pivot also carries au arm, M, to the upper end of which is pivoted the pawl m, adjacent to the periphery of the ratehetwheel d. The outer face of this pawl is beveled, and is adapted to come into contact with the beveled lace of each of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel successively, so that instead of the ordinary pulling action oi` a pawl and ratchet, I inovc the ratchet-wheel by the beveled face of the pawl coming aga-inst the beveled :face oil the tooth and sliding thereon, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, so that when the armaturelevcr has come into contact with the front stop the pawl will be at the bottom of the space between adjacent teeth, as illustrated in Fig. 4, so that there will be no jumping action produced on the hands ol the time-piece, and when, cnithe breaking of the circuit, the spring returns the armature-lever to its normal position, the pawl m will turn on its pivot and slide back over the tooth, as indicated in Fig.

5, toits normal position, Fig. 1, without disturbin g the wheel.

Instead of a pawl to prevent back action of thc ratchet-wheel as usually employed, I make use of a friction device, which in the present instance is shown as consisting of a spring, s,

carried by the cross-bar c and bearing on the main arbor D. By this means, and as the op erating-pawl m is normally out of contact with the ratchet-wheel d, the hands of the timepiece can be moved in either direction to set them. f p

n The above-described actuating device can be used il'or the-secondhand movement as well as for the hour and minute movements, if desired. In` the drawings, I have shown gearing for minute and hour movements only, there being mounted on the main arbor, outside of the front plate, a pinion, l, engaging with a gear-wheel, 2, carrying a pinion, 8, which in turn gears with a wheel, 4, free to turn on the main arbor, and carrying the hour-hand K,

IOO

2. An electric-clock actuator, comprisingl an arbor and ratchet-Wheel, with an adjacent electro-magnet lever, f, pivoted at the base of the magnet and having an arm, N, atan angle thoreto, carrying a pivoted paxvl to engage with the ratchet-wheel, all substantially as described.

In testimonyivhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subseribing` Witnesses.

SWAIN FHAGKA RA.

Wtnesses:

HARRY SM 1TH, HUBERT Howsox. 

